novelraw Chapter 258 - 251 Mutual Deception
Chapter 258 - 251 Mutual Deception
Shenghai
A tenement building
Xiao Li was looking at messages in a WeChat group.
This was a group she had just joined because the group owner claimed they could get tickets to the musical starring Lan Yening. Moreover, they were internal tickets and relatively cheap.
Hello everyone, I’m Ningning’s assistant.
This group is a secret group, so please don’t leak anything. I only have 20 tickets in my hand, so I created this group for 25 people.
Everyone, rest assured. Since I know you’re all Ningning’s diehard fans, the ticket price I’m offering is cheaper than what’s on the official website. The tickets will go to whoever contacts me first.
Xiao Li wanted to ask in the group where these tickets came from.
However, the group owner had set a ban on messages, so she could only contact them through private chat.
Xiao Li hesitated for a moment but decided to give it a try since the tickets were already sold out online.
Besides, this person was indeed previously quite active in their old fan group.
Xiao Li added the contact using the additional WeChat ID provided in the group.
"Hello, do you have Ningning musical tickets?"
"Yes, I do!"
"I want one."
"Sure! How old are you?"
Xiao Li was startled by the question and scratched her long hair, which hadn’t been washed for three days.
To save money, she and her parents usually washed their hair in the park restroom.
She detested this behavior, so she rarely went herself.
"I’m 15 years old."
Xiao Li quickly typed the number, intentionally making herself seem younger.
The light from her computer screen illuminated her face, making her look eerie—like a caged beast in the dim glow.
She picked up the rice bowl beside her and drank the remaining broth in one gulp.
This was leftover food from the restaurant where her mother worked, brought home to improve their meals.
"Oh! You’re so young! It’s not easy saving money, huh?"
"Not really. My parents give me a couple thousand yuan as allowance every month."
Xiao Li’s expression turned fierce, her eyes—like slits carved into a pig’s head—glimmering with serpent-like malice.
"Then I’m relieved. We usually don’t sell to young people because of concerns their parents might cause trouble for us later, accusing us of scamming kids."
"Don’t worry, Sis. I won’t. It’s just a few hundred yuan—barely enough for me to buy shoes."
"Alright then! Here’s the ticket; take a look."
The person sent Xiao Li an image of a ticket.
"This resolution is too low; I can’t see it clearly."
"It’s already quite clear. Are you sincerely looking to buy the ticket?"
After seeing this reply, Xiao Li ignored it and instead picked up the food on her table, devouring it ravenously.
Broth and rice splattered onto her collar.
About five minutes later, another message arrived from the other side.
"Alright, I understand your suspicion. Kids should indeed be cautious."
After this message, they sent a high-resolution image of the ticket.
Xiao Li opened it and zoomed in to inspect it closely, her sinister smile growing more horrifying.
She quickly accessed the ticket purchase website and entered the anti-counterfeit code from the ticket. If it were a genuine ticket, the other person would receive a verification code.
"Well, little girl, have you checked it?"
Xiao Li was now certain the person on the other side was a scammer because they hadn’t asked about the verification code, as a legitimate seller would.
"How do I get the ticket?"
"Payment upon delivery. If I ask for a digital payment, you wouldn’t trust me."
"Oh."
Xiao Li knew this was an act to gain her trust.
"Little girl, just to verify that you’re capable of making this payment, could you send me a screenshot of your WeChat wallet or Alipay balance?"
"You don’t trust me?"
"It’s not that—I’m just worried about wasting my time."
Xiao Li realized the scammer wanted to confirm whether she had money.
"Alright, please wait a moment." Xiao Li searched online and found a screenshot showing a substantial WeChat wallet balance. She doctored it with software and sent it over.
To follow Lan Yening, Xiao Li had learned various photo-editing techniques, which she used to create masterpieces of her beloved idol.
She hadn’t expected them to come in handy for this situation.
"Hmm! Great, now I’m assured!"
The scammer followed this message with a string of smiling emojis.
"By the way, little girl, you know Ningning released a new song recently, right?"
"Yes!"
"Ningning needs fans to boost his chart rankings by purchasing his song. If you spend 99 yuan to buy it, I can send you a signed selfie of his. Of course, the 99 yuan is just a virtual payment—it’s not real. Moreover, I will gift you a 3888-yuan fan package."
The person sent Xiao Li a long string of messages.
"Sure! I can help Xiao Ning."
"Okay then, scan this QR code for the virtual payment."
The scammer sent over a QR code.
After scanning it, Xiao Li clicked to pay the amount of 99 yuan. As she had anticipated, the money was actually deducted from her account.
"Weren’t you saying it was a virtual payment? Why is it real?"
"This is a temporary deduction. The money will automatically be refunded to you within two hours."
The scammer quickly responded with this message.
"Oh! Forget it. 99 yuan can just be my treat for Sis to enjoy a cup of milk tea. You all work so hard to boost Ningning’s chart rankings."
"... That’s unacceptable. If I said it was a virtual payment, it must be virtual—it’s about protecting Ningning’s reputation."
The scammer hesitated for a moment before replying, clearly encountering such resistance for the first time.
"Little girl, our accounting system needs a certain amount of money to open transactions. So you’ll need to make another virtual payment of 1888 yuan. Afterward, I’ll send you the promised 3888 yuan package along with your money."
"Huh! I have to send more money? Forget it; I’m feeling tired."
"Don’t say that, little girl. We don’t rest when we’re boosting chart rankings, working tirelessly overnight."
"I’m truly exhausted. Keep the package for yourself. It’s just a few thousand yuan anyway."
The scammer quickly responded:
"That won’t do—I’m Ningning’s assistant. I can’t keep this money. It’s allocated specifically for fans like you. Plus, I have a quota to meet of distributing 10 per day."
"Oh, I see. Alright then!"
Following the scammer’s instructions, Xiao Li transferred 1888 yuan.
As expected, the scammer neither sent her the promised package nor refunded her money.
Sweat began forming on Xiao Li’s forehead.
This was her first time dealing directly with such scammers.
In her job at a telecom company, she’d come across numerous people making complaints about this kind of thing.
This exposure had made her familiar with scammers’ tactics.
"Little girl, my accounting system is still locked."
"Didn’t I send you the money already? Why is this so complicated? I’m really tired—I need to sleep."
Seeing Xiao Li’s message, the scammer realized they were dealing with someone "not short of money."
Both sides were essentially scamming each other. While this line of work could be considered clever, their foolishness lay in their greed.
Greed clouds a person’s rationality, turning what would otherwise seem absurd into something oddly logical.
This explained why so many people fell for scams.
"Little girl, you must help me, just for Ningning’s sake, and I’ll try to get another signed photo for you."
"Okay! What else do you need?"
"I saw from your WeChat wallet balance that you have over 180,000 yuan. Can you transfer 180,000 yuan to me? This will just barely unlock my account, and I’ll send everything to you afterward."
"180,000 yuan to help you out this once? Sure, it’s just my monthly living expenses. But what if your system glitches again?"
"It won’t happen this time; I promise."
"You’re just saying that—you haven’t given any guarantees, so I can’t send the money."
Xiao Li’s hands were now drenched in sweat. She was gambling on the scammer’s greed.
"What guarantee do you need?"
"How about this: You return the money I previously sent along with the promised package by paying me out of your own funds. Once that’s done, I’ll send the rest."
The scammer clearly hesitated but ultimately couldn’t resist the allure of 180,000 yuan.
"Alright, I’ll use my own money as a guarantee—but you must keep your promise."